The radio alarms go off. The sun peeks from behind the clouds to open the day with brightness and warmth as it cascades its rays around us. A new day arises in our household.

Hubby and daughter are waking up to greet the day to get ready for work. They’re up before I am. I used to be the first one up to awaken the household from its sleepy stupor.

Now, work isn’t part of my world and won’t be for some time, if ever. It doesn’t matter what time I get up.

It’s interesting how a cancer diagnosis changes the order of things. How a cancer diagnosis changes your world. How a cancer diagnosis changes your life. How a cancer diagnosis changes the lives of others.

Life resumes for all of us, but it’s different now and will forever be since cancer entered our world. The “normal” days of the past, and the routines of yesterday are somewhat the same for my husband, daughter, and son who lives away from home.

They go through their days, similar to what they did in the past. Their work demands that they be in top shape, so they “mentally park” their thoughts about living in a cancer family to get their daily jobs done.

I no longer have a daily “normal.” Life has resumed, but it is different for me. I can’t mentally park living with cancer. I live with cancer.

I miss the daily routine and predictability of showing up for work. I miss mentally organizing my workday while puttering in the kitchen to prepare my lunch. I miss the social interaction that naturally forms part of the workday. I miss the satisfaction of solving problems at work.

I am continually learning new lessons about living daily with a life-threatening disease.

I am adjusting to being a prisoner in my own home, to being held hostage by a life-threatening disease. The surgery recovery is slow and disallows me from driving temporarily until I am strong enough to physically handle steering a car safely. I am adjusting to being lonely while living with the silence of a quiet daytime household in which I am its lone inhabitant.

Cancer Fighter--My New Job

I have a new job now, that of cancer fighter. I didn’t need to apply for it. There were no competitors vying for it. It was given to me without contest. There was training for the position.

This new job sees me spending my days battling a life threatening disease that attacks my body, shakes my spirit, and challenges me to stay positive. I am up for the task of tackling this new job just as I have been with all of the others that have shaped my life.

My boss is cancer. It’s a demanding and unkind boss. It requires me to put in the most effort I have ever had to do to get the job done. My performance review is still several months away to see if I’ve accomplished all of the goals and objectives needed to win the fight against cancer.

Fortunately, I have dozens of Warrior Women of The Amazon Tribe and Action Heroes who check in with me regularly to make sure I continue to heal in body, mind, and spirit. They ensure that I’m doing my best to fight cancer.

A retired boss of mind of some years back, for whom I still hold much fondness, is a cancer survivor. He entered a comment on this blog a few days ago.

"Here is something to think about,” he offered. “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain." Thanks boss, you always had a way of reaching out and touching my life in ways that make me think!

He and my other cancer survivor friends continue to instruct me in the ways of living with cancer. They are wise teachers and sages who are traveling with me on this cancer journey. Because of them, I will remember to not wait for the storms to pass.

I am learning to dance in the rain. I do so with Strength, Courage, and Determination.